Method of manufacturing button-shanks.



PATENI'ED NOV. 28, 1905,

G. R. FAAS. METHOD OF MANUFACTURING BUTTON SHANKS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 12, 1904.

Jul 0min):

OFFICE.

CHARLESB. FAAS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING BUTTON-SHANKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 28, 1905.

Application filed December 12, 1904. fierial No. 236,459.

1 '0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES R. FAAs, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Methods of Manufacturing Button- Shanks, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a new and useful method of forming single-piece metal buttonshanks comprising an eye, a neck, and a cuplike head adapted to be upset or spread in a a cavity in the button, and thus engaged therewith; and the object of the invention is to produce such shanks economically and rapidly without materially affecting the character of the metal and reducing its strength and pliability.

The invention consists in the method of successive treatments of the material in dies by which the above objects are attained to be hereinafter set forth.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification and illustrate the article to be formed and the several steps in the treatment.

Figure 1 isasection through abutton, showing the attached shank in elevation. Fig. 2 is a side view of a shank alone before attachment. Fig. 3 is acorresponding section taken on the line 3 3 in Fig. 2, andFig. 4: is a plan or top view. The remaining figures are on a larger scale and illustrate the successive operations in forming the shanks. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section and partial plan of the dies and material treated thereby. Fig. 6 is a corresponding face view of the dies, showing the material in side view.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

The material employed (preferably an alloy of copper) isin the form of wire M, drawn to the desired diameter, and the several steps in the manufacture are preferably performed without separating the partially formed shanks from each other and the wire until completed, thus facilitating the feeding and desired presentation to the dies. The latter will be understood as operated by cams or other means. (Not shown.)

The length of one shank may be taken as the unit of feed, and each pair or set of dies is shown as separated by two such units from the next succeeding pair, thus increasing the space and permitting a larger amount of stock to be massed in the dies for the purpose of increasing their strength and stiffness; but there may be one-pair for each unit, or they may be separated three or more units. The dies close once for each feed, so that the output is one shank for each feed, while a partially-formed shank lies unacted upon in the space between each set of dies and the next at the end of each feed.

The first pair A A are plain-faced excepting for the grooves a a, matching to the wire at each side, and simply flatten and widen the wire, as indicated at M. The next feed advances the stock one unit, and the second closing of the dies A A produces another flat M, connected to the first by an unflattened portion or head M allowed by the grooves a and containing the stock for the cup. The next feed advances the first flat M to the second set of dies B B and presents another portion of the wire to the dies A A for flattening. B is the male die, and B the female, acting together upon the flat M to remove portions of the material and produce a ring or partially-formed eye 1 3 and a long neck M between the eye and head M and a short connecting-neck M" between the eye and next succeeding head M the opening in the ring being produced by a moving portion B in the die B. In this step and in the succeeding feed, which is merely a duplication of the same, the head M is unacted upon. Space for its accommodation in the female die B is afforded by the triangular recess shown in such die. The male die B needs no such pro- "vision, as it affects the neck and eye alone.

The next feed produces another partiallyformed ring M and neck i 4 and another flat M. The next feed presents the first partiallyformed shank to the finishing-dies C C, in which the ring 1 3 is smoothly rounded to form the eye N G and the neck M rounded and tapered, as shown. While held by the dies C C, in which are cavities c c, the head M is struck by an axially-moving die or punch D, having a rounded end matching to the cavities c c in the dies and the metal of the head forced into the cavities and hollowed to form. the hemispherical cup M. At the next feed the finished shank is cut from the next succeeding on the line w w by a pair of shearing-dies (not shown) during the interval in which the punch D is retracted for its next advance. Thus each set of dies performs its functions at each feed, and a previouslyactedupon portion of the stock lies idly between each set. 1

The finished shank is shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, and in Fig. 1 it is shown attached to a button by flattening and spreading the cup M in a cavity therein.

By the method described the parallelism of the fiber of the drawn Wire is not disturbed in the neck 1W and is but little disarranged in the eye M, While in the cup M the fibrous structure is merely spread or expanded radially Without impairing the strength, so that in upsetting the cup in the cavity of the button there are no lines of inherent Weakness along Which the cup is likely to split, the rim being of uniform strength throughout its periphery.

By maintaining the attachment of the partially-formed shanks to each other and to the Wire until the several steps are completed and the finished shank severed correct presentation to the dies and uniformity of product are insured besides facility and economy in handling.

I claim The method described of producing buttonshanks continuously from Wire stock, consisting first of flattening a portion of the Wire by flattening-dies leaving an unfiattened portion or head in advance of each flattened portion; second, removing parts of said flattened portion in succeeding dies to partially form the neck and eye; third, finishing said neck and eye in a succeeding set of finishing dies; fourth, expanding said head by an axiallymoving die to form a cup While held in such finishing-dies and attached to the succeeding shank; and fifth, severing such finished shank from the head of such next succeeding partially-formed shank.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth 1 aflix my signature in presence of tWo Witnesses.

CHAS. R. FAAS.

Witnesses:

CHARLES R. SEARLE, MARTIN FAAS. 

